POLAND: More than 2,500 people took part in a gay rights parade through Warsaw on Saturday, in defiance of a march ban by city mayor Lech Kaczynski.
Mr Kaczynski, favourite to become Poland's new president in October, had banned the parade, citing problems with its application.
Polish media had reported him saying he had "problems with the homosexual lifestyle" and yesterday, on his "shock" that the march went ahead.
Police did not hinder the illegal parade and instead stepped in to control an illegal counter-demonstration of 200 people from religious youth organisations and the right-wing political party the League of Polish Families.
They shouted slogans like "Euthanasia for Gays, Concentration Camps for Lesbians" and threw stones and eggs at the marchers, injuring three.
Police intervened, making 20 arrests and removing and fining another 30 people who lay down in the street in an attempt to block the march.
Despite the clashes, the parade was generally good-natured, with marchers carrying banners reading: "A homosexual is not a paedophile" and "Law and justice for all". The motto of the parade was: "Different but the same. Gays and Lesbians in Poland and the EU".
Organisers said the march was important to give a voice to Poland's gay community and to highlight the intolerance they face from right-wing religious and conservative political parites and the still-dominant Catholic church.
In the end, Mr Kaczynski's ban proved a rallying call for the gay and lesbian community around Europe, who travelled especially to Warsaw to show solidarity.
Claudia Roth, leader of Germany's Green Party, told the crwod in Warsaw that the rest of Europe was watching how Poland treated its gays and lesbians.
"Mayor Kaczynski, democracy also means freedom of assembly and expression for gays and lesbians," she said.
"We want to show that those who fight for the civic rights of gays and lesbians in Poland are not alone."
Leading Polish politicians also joined the demonstration yesterday.
Deputy prime minister Izabella Jaruga-Nowacka said: "We will continue to fight so that civil rights apply to all."
Deputy parliamentary speaker Tomasz Nalecz said: "I am here to express my protest against the mayor's decision which is a violation of the Polish constitution and of civic rights. I am here to show my respect for the Polish tradition of tolerance."
At the end of the rally, the 2,500 demonstrators danced the Birdie Dance - in Polish Kaczuszki - dedicated to Mr Kaczynski.